Broken Column
2018

Broken Column, 2018. Mixed Media
Broken Column, 2018. Mixed Media

The centerpiece of the exhibition is the Broken Column, an installation that spans two floors of the Ruined Annex. The idea for this work refers to an episode which is century and a half old, which happened in the life of the French artist Gustave Courbet when he served as commissioner for culture of the Paris Commune.

One of the key symbolic acts of the Paris Commune was the demolition of Vendôme Column: erected by decree of Napoleon I, it represented the hated First Empire for French republicans. At a meeting in April 1871, the delegates to the Commune decided to have the column demolished. On May 16, in front of a large crowd, rope and winch were used to topple it. After the Commune’s defeat, Courbet was accused of destroying the column. The artist was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay for the column’s restoration.

The work was made specially for exhibition “Self-Love among the Ruins”

Exhibition “Self-Love among the Ruins” at Schusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
Curated by Ekaterina Inozemtseva
November 13–December 13, 2018
Exhibition views by Anastasia Soboleva